


you know you're my last chance

by orangeshoe



Category: A3! (Video Game)
Genre: M/M, Making Out
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-02
Updated: 2020-04-02
Packaged: 2021-02-28 20:28:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,605
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23443222
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orangeshoe/pseuds/orangeshoe
Summary: There's rustling and the sound of Azuma giggling over Banri's frustrated yelping, and suddenly there's a big lump of body heat rolled up next to Juza.He can hear the grin on Azuma's face. "Come in, Juza. Join us under the blanket."
Relationships: Hyoudou Juuza/Settsu Banri/Yukishiro Azuma
Comments: 7
Kudos: 42





	you know you're my last chance

**Author's Note:**

> my interpretation of That One Night

There’s a wet pitter-patter on the windows to the dorm, engulfing them in the white noise. The little plants Tsumugi’s been tending to are being tossed gently in the wind, and Juza faintly registers the sound of Tasuku reassuring him that the seeds Tsumugi just planted will be okay under the balcony.

A rainy day, on their day off. It’s as fortunate as it is melancholic, the idea of having a good excuse not to go anywhere, but also not having a good reason to leave. It reminds him of rainy days walking home alone from school, kicking rocks and cans down the sidewalk, drowning in his own melancholy more than usual. He had a friend who told him once that the rain should be seen as a nice thing, clearing up the air and washing dirt from abandoned porches.. But no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t see it that way.

“Hey, jackass!”

A hand hits Juza square on the back, and he jerks into defense mode with glare and fists in tow.

He’s met with Banri, who simply grins and holds his fists up, too. “Well, I wasn’t askin’ for a fight this time, but if you’re gonna start--”  
  
Before Juza can open his mouth, Izumi puts a hand between them. “Denied,” she says simply, and both boys effectively deflate (though the don’t let up their glares). “Come on, one of you help me haul all this old makeup to the trash.”

“The hell? It’s _raining_ outside, and you’re still working?” Banri raises an eyebrow at Izumi and folds his arms.

“There’s always work to be done. Especially around here.. Nobody’s going to use this gross stuff anyway. Come on, pretty please?”

Juza pushes off the wall he’d been leaning on and nods. “I’ll do it.”

“Great!” Izumi nods approvingly and waves a hand dismissively to Banri. “You can go back to your little game now.”  
  
As Juza follows Izumi to the storage room, he hears Banri call to them from behind. “Hey, don’t treat me like some kid! It’s a serious game of poker!”

The rest of the walk is pretty silent. Juza is too lost in his own thoughts to notice at first, but Izumi’s humming something softly against the sound of the rain, and it’s weirdly comfortable. It’s weird in general, how this place has become a second home for him, and all of the implications that come with it. This is like a family for him, people he wants to protect, a house he’s defensive of. He still has a lot to learn, but he knows he’ll put his best foot forward. Always.

Izumi opens the door to the storage closet and makes a face. “Ugh, this place always smells like mold and dirt. I honestly don’t know why we still have any of this stuff.”  
  
Juza doesn’t quite know what to say to that, so he lets out a little grunt of agreement and follows her in.  
  


Over the months, he’s noticed that Izumi has a very particular way of somehow knowing exactly what to do yet also knowing nothing at all. Particularly right now, he watches her march into the room, open a box, then sigh in exasperation. 

“What?? No, this was definitely where I found it.. Did I move it?”

With her hands on her hips, she swings around as she starts sifting through more boxes that are spread out on the floor. It looks like she was here for a while earlier.. Did she pull all of that down herself?

Not wanting to be useless, Juza gives his own look around. Nothing in here is really labeled, there’s a single window next to the door they just entered and not much light is filtering in. There’s a box underneath that, though.. Maybe..

“Izumi.”  
  
“Huh? Yeah, Juza?” Izumi looks up from where she’s now sitting--when did that happen?--and looking through a bunch of binders she seemed to pull out from the box next to her.

“There’s a bunch of boxes that look like our makeup ones in here.. Is this it?”

Izumi bundles the binders into her arms and stands, leaning over to look inside. “Oh, sweet! You found them! Perfect. Let’s go take this out to the trash.”  
  
Juza, ever obedient, closes the cardboard box and lifts it up easily. “What are those?”  
  
“Oh, just some old script copies for the stage crews.. I figure we can adapt some of their shorthand and see what kind of set designs they used before. They were working with the same stage we have now, after all, so might as well take advantage of that, right?”

“Ah.. Yeah,” Juza hums, mostly getting it. There’s a lot that goes into theater, and that’s probably what draws him to it so deeply. The.. community of it. He tilts his head curiously then, shifting the box in his hands as Izumi locks the storage room and leads the way to the dumpster. “How come we’re throwing this stuff out?”  
  
“It’s old,” Izumi explains with her nose scrunched up tight. “You don’t want to put this stuff on your face. It’s like.. Eating moldy cake. It’s not good for you.”  
  
He appreciates the analogy specially catered to him with a snort. “It’s just your face though, right? Can’t you wash it off?”  
  
“Doesn’t matter. Your face is delicate, y’know? Guys don’t understand,” she sighs dramatically, “but girls have it really tough. One wrong product on your face, and boom! Pimples galore. Didn’t you get acne when you went through puberty?”

Juza tries to think back… but, no. Not really. He saw other people struggle with it, but he figured they just had something else going on. 

“No.”

“Boys suck. Azuma is the only one who understands me.”

Izumi laughs all bright and cheerful and Juza can’t help but smile with her.

~

They dump the trash makeup out and make their way back into the dorm where everyone’s all riled up in their game of poker, betting candies with each other after Izumi and Sakyo had to ban strip poker. Juza leans his head out the door and shakes some loose water from his hair then slicks it back into its usual shape before making a beeline for the kitchen - he smells something baking.

When Juza looks at the oven, there’s a timer going and his eyes roam until he finds Omi washing the dishes and Taichi licking the spoon. 

“Hey, Juza! Omi’s making a triple chocolate cake tonight, isn’t that awesome?!”

Juza can feel his own eyes sparkle when he nods.

  
Taichi waves the spoon in victory and laughs, “I told you he’d like it!” only for Omi to yank the spoon from his grasp with a chuckle.

“Yeah, you did. And judging by how you cleaned this better than you clean your room, you like it, too.”

A fond smile in place, Juza turns back toward the living room with Taichi and Omi giggling in the background. He sees Tasuku and Tsumugi sitting at the dining table coloring with Azuma and decides to take a seat.

Surprisingly, he’s the first to speak up.

“You’re not playing?” Juza nods toward the crowd of guys trying to read each other’s poker faces in the other room when Azuma looks up, gentle as ever.

“No, not this time.. I thought coloring was a more productive way to spend a day like this. Don’t you think?” Always right on beat, Azuma passes Juza a sheet and some crayons, impossible to say no to.

He takes it in stride, though, looking down at the cartoonish outline of a bear staring back at him while he looks at his color choices. He feels eyes on him - he always does - when he roughly picks up a black crayon and starts his work.

Azuma’s voice manages to be soft enough not to startle Juza, but clear enough that he can hear him over the noise. “Do you like the rain, Juza?”  
  
“Ah, uh.. Sometimes,” he decides, suddenly very focused on the bear’s neck.

“Sometimes.. That’s an unusual answer.”

When Juza looks up, he sees Azuma coloring his own outline of a peacock, graceful looking and vibrant. “Is it?”  
  
“Not in the cruel way. But people usually feel very strongly about things like the weather, I find. I like that you said sometimes.. Life is full of gray areas, after all.”

Juza looks back down at the one-tone bear he’s been coloring, and ponders.

Tsumugi hums. “It’s like the plants.. They like a little bit of different weather, but it depends on how old they are and how well they can handle it. They’re all different.”

Tasuku snorts and mumbles something Juza can’t hear, but judging by the way Tsumugi elbows him gently, it was a tease. Ever since they joined Mankai Company, Juza can’t help watching them together. The little looks they shoot each other from across the room, the way Tasuku slides his arm around Tsumugi’s shoulder at just the right time, how Tsumugi passes Tasuku a water bottle during practice before he even has to ask. 

Sometimes - just sometimes - he wonders if that’s something he could have, someday.

When he realizes he’s staring, he quickly averts his gaze, only to find that someone was watching him, too.

~

Juza can't help but yawn once he reaches the communal bath. It's been a long, drowsy sort of day, and he can't wait to let the water roll down his back.

A fair voice laughs at him as he enters.

"My, you have such a big mouth. I didn't think you could have an expression that wide," Azuma teases, shuffling through his caddy at the side of the bath. He's knelt there in a towel, pulling a washcloth and soap from the plastic basket before moving to sit on a stool next to the faucet.

"Ah.." is all Juza replies before setting his basket down, hands adjusting his own towel wrapped around his waist. He didn't expect anyone else to be going to bed this early, but then again, he might remember Azuma mentioning beauty sleep once or twice.

"Hey, you!"

Two annoyingly familiar hands grip his shoulders, and Juza can't hold back his groan.

Banri gives Juza a little shake before letting go, and Juza notices Banri is still fully dressed. Did he come here just to jab at him? The energy in this guy..

"Is that seriously all you keep in your shower caddy?" Banri raises an eyebrow while Juza looks down to see what had offended Banri so much. "Two bottles, shaving cream and a razor? Don't you have any kinda self care?"

Azuma seemed to tune in again, probably drawn by the talk of beauty products. Juza was becoming increasingly self-conscious. "Oh? Don't tell me that's 3-in-1 soap.."

"It's just easier this way," Juza mumbles, shuffling toward a faucet to rinse his feet. As he turned the water on and put a blop of soap into his hands, he heard Banri step closer in his sandals and looked up to glare at him. "You gonna shower or just stand around watchin' me?"

Banri holds up his hands in self-defense. "Hey, hey, I didn't come in here to torture you, if that's what you're saying. But now that I'm here.."

Just then, Azuma's voice blended through the air between them again. "Oh, come on, boys. This is a bath. Let's keep it clean and civil, hm?"

Both boys shot each other a look, then, and Banri started to leave the room until he caught a glimpse of the bottle Azuma was currently taking a pump out of. "No way, you buy that brand? Isn't it like super expensive face cleanser?"

"A client gave it to me," Azuma said as plain and matter of fact-ly as ever. Then, as if the most natural thing in the world, he patted the stool next to him and gave Banri a smile. "Would you like to try?"

Banri hesitated at first, his pride obviously holding him back. But temptation seemed to outweight that tonight, and he checked if the stool was dry before cautiously taking a seat. 

Juza stopped watching them, then, busying himself with what he actually came to the showers to do. He let their idle chatter fill the background noise as he went to wash his body, wincing a little at the aforementioned soap. He always knew there was a whole other world to be explored in that area, beauty or self care or whatever it went by. But was that his world? Could it be?

When Juza's finished scrubbing and rinsing, he quickly dries himself off with his towel and returns it to his waist. Just as he's about to pick up his things and go, Azuma calls him over.

"Oh, Juza. We're just about to exfoliate. Would you like to try?"

Ah.. that scary sixth sense Azuma seemed to have. Or maybe Juza was just easy to read. Maybe Azuma had caught Juza staring at the little basket of unknown treasures, maybe Azuma noticed the way Juza's ear perked as he and Banri discussed what type of skin Banri might have and what moisturizer would work well for him.

"Um.. Okay."

~ 

Exfoliating turned into full washing and moisturizing, along with Azuma explaining why "multi-purpose" soaps were a sham and how he could be treating his body with much more care while Banri ran back and forth to take a shower of his own. Juza understood now how skin worked, and how lotion kept the moisture inside the skin and looking smooth and healthy. He knew how shampoo and conditioner worked, and how it's kind of silly to think they could make a soap that properly meets all of your hair _and_ body needs. 

"I love cleaning up at the end of a long day," Azuma notes. 

Suddenly, Juza remembers his conversation with Izumi earlier. 

"Do you.. wear makeup?"

Azuma looks at him, never missing a beat, soft smile placed on his lips. "No, not usually. Why do you ask?"

Right. Why did he ask? He feels like there's tons of reasons. But, if he had to pick one..

"You said it's like cleaning up. Izumi said make-up can be dirty, or something."

"Well, that is true.. but even without makeup, doesn't it feel so nice to take a shower at the end of the day?" While he talks, Azuma packs his things back into his caddy but somehow Juza feels his focus never leaves the conversation. "When you go outside, you don't really notice it, but there's dirt everywhere. That can build up on your skin, especially if you're touching your face a lot. And personally, I think a shower helps wash away all the bad things of the day, too.. just like rain."

When Juza looks up from watching Azuma's slender hands, he's met with that same tender gaze, and somewhere distant he thinks his heart skipped a beat.

Banri breaks the silence with a shake of his hair, towel draped over his shoulders and framing his big smile.

"Hey, big guy. Move it or lose it, we’re gonna do face masks."

~

The three of them somehow ended up sprawled onto their backs on the rug on Azuma’s bedroom floor, wet cloth face masks sitting on their faces and talking about their days.

Azuma had that kind of effect on people, and Juza had found it to be sort of relaxing. He wasn’t much of a talker, but he thinks it’s more of the idea of it all - relaxing with other people, letting your guard down in body and words, and sharing things about yourself that would have otherwise gone entirely unsaid.. It’s nice.

So nice, in fact, that he didn't realize until much too late that Azuma had taken off his face mask and was leaning over Juza on one elbow.

"Um," Juza swallows around the awkward lump in his throat, trying to process absolutely anything other than how smooth Azuma's skin is, or how silky his hair looks tucked behind his ear. He tries to remember how to breathe steadily, to react however a normal person should in this situation, melting under the glow of Azuma's warm smile and soft chuckle.

"You can't fall asleep with it, silly. It'll dry up and take all the goodness with it," Azuma says - so easily, so comfortable.

Juza can only nod in reply, and he hears Banri yawn to the side of them. He must still be lying down, oblivious to the whirlwind Azuma is putting Juza through right now.

People just.. He just didn't quite know how to react with people. And Azuma knows it all, and maybe Juza.. thinks that's attractive. 

It's as this dawns on him that Azuma begins peeling his mask off for him, and Juza can't stop getting lost in his eyes.

"Juza, are you thinking about something?" His voice seems to have dropped lower.

"Uh.. I guess."

Banri scoffs. "You? Thinking? It's a damn miracle."

Juza feels his refreshed face twist up and he tilts his head to glare at Banri. "Shut up, idiot. I'll show you a miracle if you don't sleep with one eye open tonight."

Suddenly, Juza feels soft hands on his jaw and he immediately flares up with tension and heat. It's gentle, but firm, and Azuma's tilting Juza's head back to look up at him.

"Tsk, tsk, boys.. No fighting after a facial. You'll just get wrinkles."

"He's always starting it," Juza mutters under his breath like a child, and Azuma does the unpredictable. Unthinkable.

Before Juza can blink, Azuma's lips are on his forehead.

And before he can even commit the feeling to memory, it's gone.

Azuma simply smiles. "I'll have to hold you two hostage in my room to make sure you behave. I wouldn't want all this to be for nothing."

"Huh?! Sleep here?" Juza hears Banri sit up, and starts to do the same. Azuma eases out of his space just enough, but stays near as he sits up, too. "Your bed is tiny, and the floor is hard!"

"Oh, hush. It'll be like a sleepover. I have a mat we can use so we don't kill our backs, though," Azuma continues casually, getting up to go to his closet. Banri still doesn't seem convinced. Juza watches him follow Azuma, complaining all the way while Azuma continues to brush him off.

"I don't mind," he says, and both heads whip toward him. Banri in disbelief, and Azuma with.. approval?

"Then it's settled," is all Azuma says.

~

They've made a makeshift pile of pillows and blankets, most of which Banri begrudgingly gathered together from all three of their beds since he insisted it'd be too uncomfortable without them. Azuma had only let him go with the promise of coming back, and honestly, Juza was surprised when Banri knocked on the door with pillows in tow.

"M'not doin' it for you," he grumbled, and--oh, Juza's surprise must have shown on his face, "I don't want Azuma to be sad."

So now here they were, bundled up in their little sections on the floor, the soft light from Azuma's mini lamp the only thing keeping Juza's brain from being sucked into the darkness.

It feels like.. something's missing. Something's off the routine. Something--

"Hey, juggernaut. Quit breathin' so loud, I can't get some sleep."

There it is. Juza grunts and rolls over. "Shut up, just don't focus on it."

"How can I not?! A room full of three people and your sewage-pipe nostrils manage to--"

"Shh, boys," Azuma chides.

Banri grumbles. "Don't tell me you don't hear it, too, Azuma."

"I'm used to all sorts of sleeping habits," Azuma manages to dodge.

"Well, I ain't. 'Specially not when he's just right _there_."

Azuma hums, and something about it strikes fear into Juza's heart. "Well, how about we do a training exercise, then?"

Juza finds himself speaking before he can properly think, "Um, I don't--"

"Training?! Come _on_ , Azu--wh, wait, what are you--"

There's rustling and the sound of Azuma giggling over Banri's frustrated yelping, and suddenly there's a big lump of body heat rolled up next to Juza.

He can _hear_ the grin on Azuma's face. "Come in, Juza. Join us under the blanket."

"Uh. I'm fine."

Banri tries to roll away, and Azuma yanks him back. Either Banri's not trying hard enough, or Azuma is stronger than he looks.

"Come on. I won't bite," Azuma prods, and Juza wonders if it's a lie or not.

"I didn't think you would," he replies.

"Oh? That might be your first mistake, then."

Juza lies there, stiff as a log, unsure of what just happened.

"Oh, just get under the damn blanket so we can go the hell to sleep, asshole."

"Now, now.. Lie still, little lion."

When Juza looks over at them, he catches Azuma kissing Banri's temple, and watches the way Banri melts and fidgets under the intimate action. He can't see it in this light, but he's almost certain Banri has to be blushing, and he starts to feel a little less alone.

"How do you.. do that?" Juza says, entranced.

"Hm?" Azuma slowly turns his head back to Juza. "Do what?"

Juza clears his throat, but there wasn't anything there. "That.. thing. When you calm us down."

Banri pokes his head up, then, and Juza can see the shine of Azuma's smile.

"Would you like to try?"

Juza feels like an eternity passes before he forces himself to nod slowly. He opens his mouth to say "yes," but it's dry and comes out as a whisper.

All it takes is Azuma opening up the blanket for him, and Juza scoots in like he's under a spell. Without thinking about it, he licks his lips and focuses on Azuma's face.

"Go ahead. Whenever you're ready," Azuma says softly, and why is everything so damn easy to believe when it comes out of Azuma's mouth?

He jerks his head in, then, and crashes their lips together clumsily. As soon as he hears Banri snicker he pulls away, but Azuma's hand is quick to catch the back of his head.

Banri is up on one elbow now, watching them intently. "Went in for the kill, huh, big guy?"

Juza's face feels like it's on fire. He's stupid, he's weird, god, he could never be that gentle and reassuring, of _course_ he would fuck up something so simple, and--

"Try again," Azuma's voice cracks through his self-loathing, and Banri's chuckling has stopped.

Juza wants to leave. He wants to go, he's embarrassed, but Azuma's hand is there and even if it's not forcing him to stay.. it makes him want to. "I.. I don't know how."

Azuma ignores the scoff from behind him and smiles. "That's okay. Take a deep breath.. Try again."

With a deep breath like he said, Juza exhales slowly and starts to lean his head in again. He's hesitating this time - more careful, more cautious, but Azuma waits there patiently the whole time. When their lips meet again, Juza becomes so painfully aware of how rough and cracked his lips feel against Azuma's soft lips, but then Azuma is moving their lips together just _oh so slightly_ to kiss him back and Juza gasps. 

Everything is so goddamn new. The way he can _feel_ Azuma smiling against his lips, Azuma's hand running down his arm and placing Juza's hand on Azuma's hip, the way he guides their lips together and Juza has no fucking clue how it feels for Azuma but hopefully it's good? Because Juza feels pretty good, and once he realizes that, his hand on Azuma's hip holds on firmly and Azuma seems to like that very much.

"Fuck," Juza hears Banri whisper after he's made out with Azuma for god knows how long, "h-hey, I want.."

Azuma's hand is in Juza's hair when he pulls away slowly to turn back to Banri. "Hm? What do you want?"

Banri huffs. "C'mon.."

"No, I won't 'c'mon'. Please, tell me, Banri."

Juza doesn't lift his head, barely lifts a muscle, but shifts his eyes to look at Banri, half his face covered in the soft glow of the bedroom light. 

It's a new look on him, Juza notes. His chin is still tilted high, but his eyes are softer, eyebrows screwed in just enough to tell you "I'm not happy," the pout of his lower lip jutting out slightly. He thinks they're finally on the same page about something.

"I wanna kiss, too."

And the rest of it starts to blur together.

It's nothing crazy, beyond the three of them being far more intimate than Juza had ever dreamed he would be capable of. Sometimes he has to pull away and take a breather, but in that time Banri usually leans over Azuma and Juza watches them, humming and playing with each other's hair, and he thinks _this has got to be some wild dream._ They're more practiced than he is, no doubt Banri's had his fair share in school and Azuma's seduction skills are no joke, and Juza feelz horribly out of place. He feels awkward and fidgety, and when Azuma starts kissing down his neck, he feels even more like he doesn't have a goddamn clue what he's doing or how he got here.

In fact, he was so stuck in his head that it took Banri flicking his forehead to get him back. "Hey, stone wall. Relax and just enjoy it already."

Juza frowns. He wants to show Azuma he appreciates this, he just doesn't know.. how. "I don't know how," he admit plainly.

To that, Banri clicks his tongue and Azuma shifts to Juza's other side to make room for Banri. "Then learn, dumbass."

And then Banri's lips are on his, and he feels like he's back at square one. He takes coaxing to get comfortable with it, never really truly gets there, he thinks, but it's enough that Banri bites on his lower lip and all Juza thinks then is _oh._

Banri and Juza are rougher together than they are with Azuma, but it releases the tension all the same. Juza shoves Banri's long hair out of the way, and Banri sucks on Juza's tongue like he doesn't intend to stop. They're fast and sharp in contrast to Azuma's smooth hands running up their bodies, and when Juza moans, he actually feels proud of it with the way Banri seems to get choked up in response.

It's a long night of them alternating partners, watching each other in the dim lighting and shuffling around to get comfortable with each other. Juza even gets confident enough to lick at Banri's ear while he's under Azuma, and the whimper it draws out is definitely going to haunt his dreams for a long time to come.

When it seems they've finally exhausted themselves, it ends much like how it began, with Azuma in the middle and the two boys on his sides. Although now they're cuddled up closer - Banri's arm draped over Azuma's waist and Juza playing with the tips of Azuma's long hair. It's a peaceful silence, with the rain gone, only their slowly breaths to fill the air while they drift into slumber.

Azuma's whisper carries itself along the white noise so well it barely stands out. "Did you learn anything, Juza?"

Juza takes a moment to truly consider it, and realizes the clutter in his brain no longer clouds his thoughts. "I did. Thank you."

And Azuma places one more brisk kiss to Juza's forehead as he lets his eyes slip shut.

**Author's Note:**

> i started this in fucking november so im sorry if theres continuity shit or whatever i just love these three and wanted to finish. hmu banjuzazumasl


End file.
